U.S. ambassador stresses strong China-U.S. relations

By Catie Fry |Friday, December 13, 2013

Gary Locke, the U.S. ambassador to China, applauded achievements made by AmCham Shanghai this year and also placed emphasis on U.S.-China relations in a speech made Thursday, as he prepares to step down early next year.
“A prosperous China is good for the United States, and a strong U.S. economy is good for China,” Locke said. “And more importantly, strong U.S.-China relations are good for the entire world.”
During his speech made at the Thirteenth Annual Government Appreciation in West Shanghai, Locke acknowledged AmCham Shanghai’s Small and Medium Enterprise Virtual Center and Corporate Social Responsibility programs, as well as its hosting of the second Corporate Social Responsibility Conference.
He also noted the efforts of the Shanghai Municipal Government to engage American businesses in opportunities to support the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone development and implementation.
“The launch of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone in September has the potential to boost economic growth and productivity and to stimulate service sector growth first in Shanghai and ultimately throughout the rest of China,” Locke said. “We are pleased that the municipal government has been consulting AmCham Shanghai on the Free Trade Zone because collaboration and information [exchange] between business and government can only make the Zone more successful.”
During his service, Locke worked to improve the bilateral trade environment, streamline the U.S. visa process for Chinese travelers and promote Chinese foreign direct investment into the U.S.
“As Chinese companies go global, we want them to invest in America because foreign direct investment in the United States is vital to our economic growth, vital to job creation, and vital to American productivity while at the same time growing the Chinese businesses and to the benefit of their owners and their shareholders,” he said.
At the same event, Vice Mayor of Shanghai Zhou Bo acknowledged the role of the U.S. business community in Shanghai.
“Thanks to the active engagement from the U.S. consulate general in Shanghai and AmCham Shanghai, American companies in Shanghai have not only enjoyed rapid growth themselves, but also made an important contribution to the economic and social development of Shanghai,” he said.
According to the vice mayor, the United States’ investment in Shanghai accounts for 7.2 percent of total foreign investment there, and the outbound investment from Shanghai to the United States has surpassed $2 billion.